Pope Francis, 86, was discharged this Saturday morning, after spending three days hospitalized for bronchitis. Before leaving the Gemelli hospital in Rome to go to the residence of Santa Marta, in the Vatican, where he lives with other priests, the pontiff greeted the medical staff and those in charge of the medical center and thanked them for his work. At the door, he also greeted the journalists who had been on duty for days with a smile and calm: “I’m still alive, I haven’t been afraid,” Jorge Mario Bergoglio revealed.
The Pope intends to immediately resume his schedule, especially busy these days of Holy Week. Although he has not officially confirmed it, some media indicate that he will participate in the celebration of Palm Sunday, which is celebrated in Saint Peter’s Square, outside the basilica and with the presence of a large number of faithful.
The Vatican has been sending brief medical reports these days to report on the state of health of the Pope, who suffers from bronchitis of infectious origin and has received antibiotic treatment in the hospital.
On the last day of admission, according to the Holy See press office, Francis had pizza for dinner with the medical team, read some newspapers, worked and also visited other patients at the center, such as a group of children with cancer. “The most beautiful thing of these days has been the visit to the children”, the Pope recognized when leaving him. Before returning to the vehicle, he has hugged and greeted a couple who lost his daughter the night before.
After leaving the hospital, Francis went to the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, to pray for the children in the oncology section that he visited in the hospital and for the sick and all those who suffer from the disease and the loss of their loved ones, as reported by the Vatican. The Pope, very devoted to the Virgin, always visits this basilica before and after his trips.
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Shortly before arriving at the Vatican, Francisco stopped again and got out of the car to greet the military and the agents who participated in the security device. Standing up, helped by a cane, he shook their hands and handed them some Easter eggs, following a widespread tradition in Italy. He also assured before the cameras of the Italian public television, RAI, that he will celebrate Holy Week and asked that they pray for him.
Easter celebrations
The Vatican has not yet officially confirmed how the celebrations of this Holy Week will take place, in which Catholics commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ, but according to the media, the rites will probably be officiated at the altar by different cardinals, but presided over by Francis. At the moment, there is no guaranteed plan and it is not known how Francisco will participate in the different masses, if, for example, he will read homilies or messages like the one he usually pronounces at the end of the Via Crucis on Good Friday, in the Roman Colosseum. .
It is expected that he will be in charge of pronouncing the Palm Sunday homily and also of imparting the traditional blessing Urbi et Orbi and read his Easter Sunday message from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Francisco was admitted on Wednesday due to an infectious-based bronchitis, for which he received intravenous antibiotic treatment. From the first day of hospitalization, the therapy began to take effect and the Pope noted an “improvement”, as the Vatican spokesman explained at the time.
Francisco has spent the days of admission in an apartment in the Gemelli polyclinic that is used exclusively by the popes. The place, which has a room, a small chapel, a dining room and a living room, was inaugurated in the time of John Paul II.
This has been the second time that Francisco has passed through the Gemelli. The first was in July 2021, when he underwent colon surgery and was hospitalized for 10 days. Since then, the Pope has also suffered from a problem in his right knee that forces him to walk with a cane or use a wheelchair, and he has assured on several occasions that he does not want to undergo surgery.
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